Rex Whitehead facts for kids
Rex Vernon Whitehead (born October 26, 1948 – died June 26, 2014) was an important Australian Test cricket umpire. He came from Victoria.
Rex Whitehead was a cricket umpire for four Test matches between 1981 and 1982. His very first match was between Australia and India. This game happened at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 2 to January 4, 1981. Australia won this match easily. In this game, Greg Chappell scored a huge 204 runs, and bowlers Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe took 13 wickets together. Rex Whitehead worked with another umpire named Mel Johnson in this match.
Umpiring Key Cricket Matches
Rex Whitehead umpired all three Test matches in the series against India. One of these matches, played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, became very famous.
The Gavaskar Incident
In the third match of the series, India won by 59 runs. However, there was a big moment of drama. Rex Whitehead made a decision that caused a lot of talk. He ruled the Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar, out using the LBW rule. This was a very important moment in the game. Gavaskar seemed to disagree with the decision, suggesting he had hit the ball with his bat. He started to leave the field, and he also told his batting partner, Chetan Chauhan, to leave with him.
Luckily, the Indian team manager quickly stepped in. He told Chauhan to stay and continue playing, and the game went on. A famous cricket book called Wisden described this event as a "dreadful scene" and said it brought "controversy over the umpiring to a head." This incident was a rare moment of tension in a Test match.
Later Career and Final Match
Rex Whitehead's last Test match was also played in Melbourne. It was between Australia and England from December 26 to December 30, 1982. This match was incredibly close! England won by just 3 runs. The game was exciting right to the end, with Allan Border and Jeff Thomson putting on a great partnership for the last wicket.
Besides Test matches, Rex Whitehead also umpired 14 One Day International (ODI) matches between 1979 and 1983. In 1979, he even umpired one women's Test match. Overall, he umpired 15 first-class cricket matches during his career.
See also
- List of Test cricket umpires
- List of One Day International cricket umpires
